


imagine

by Ice_Queen784



Series: Pepperony Songfics [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Based on a song, Depression, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Memories, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 23:03:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19283011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ice_Queen784/pseuds/Ice_Queen784
Summary: In the wake of the final battle against Thanos, Pepper remembers her relationship with Tony and wonders what things might have been like if he lived.Based on imagine by Ariana Grande





	imagine

_Step up the two of us, nobody knows us_   
_Get in the car like, “skrrt”_   
_Staying up all night, order me pad Thai_   
_Then we gon’ sleep ‘til noon_

Pepper picked up a picture from her dresser of her and Tony at the beach at night. She fondly remembered the night it was taken. It must have been seven or eight years ago by now. Back before she and Tony even knew Thanos and the Infinity Stones existed.

They had gone out on a quiet date night. Usually, when they went out, people noticed. It was why they usually didn’t go out like this. But for whatever reason, that night, people left them alone.

He took her out to a romantic dinner, then for a walk along the beach. When they got home, he took off her clothes and made love to her in the couch.

They stayed up all night watching movies, which they normally would never do, since they both got up early in the morning for work. Around two in the morning, they got hungry and ordered Thai food. They were both still naked, and Tony forgot to put any clothes back on before he opened the door. She would never forget the look on that poor delivery boy’s face.

Eventually, they both fell asleep on the couch, and neither of them woke up until past noon. Luckily, neither of them had to do anything important that day.

Pepper sighed and sat the picture down, crying. She desperately wished she could go back to that night.

_Me with no makeup, you in the bathtub_   
_Bubbles and bubbly, ooh_   
_This is a pleasure, feel like we never act this regular_

Pepper remembered another night, just before they got married. They were spending a night in, just the two of them. No makeup, no fancy dresses or suits. Just the two of them in the bathtub with a bottle of champagne.

They laughed and talked, and eventually made love. It was a wonderful night. They rarely ever got to spend a night together as just two regular people. As a normal couple.

But now Pepper knew she could never spend another night like that with him again. And it broke her heart into a million pieces.

_Click, click, click and post_   
_Drip-drip-dripped in gold_   
_Quick, quick, quick, let’s go_   
_Kiss me and take off your clothes_

Pepper looked through hundreds of pictures of them together. Some she had posted on social media, others she’d kept between the two of them. Every one of them held a special place in her heart.

She reached down to grab the necklace she was wearing. It was the one he’d had made out of the shrapnel in his chest. He’d bought her many pieces of jewelry over the years, including a wedding ring, but this necklace still meant the most. It was like having a piece of his heart with her all the time. She needed that now more than ever.

Because Tony wasn’t here anymore. He wasn’t here to hold her. To kiss her. To make love to her. To tell her he loved her. To help her get through everything. And he never could be again. And knowing that hurt more than words could describe.

_Imagine a world like that_   
_Imagine a world like that_   
_We go like up ‘til I’m sleep on your chest_   
_Love how my face fits so good in your neck_

Pepper laid down on the bed and closed her eyes. She tried to pretend that Tony was still there, holding her. That he would be there to hold her until she fell asleep, cuddled up to him. Her body seemed to fit so perfectly against his, and her face seemed to fit so perfectly in the crook of his neck.

It was so easy for her to imagine him being there. She had memorized exactly how it felt. She clung to her memory and her imagination desperately. It was all she had left of him.

_Why can’t you imagine a world like that_   
_Imagine a world_

Why did Tony have to die? Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t it have been Steve, or anybody else, who ended up with the gauntlet?

She and Tony had been happy. They had a daughter. They were supposed to raise her together. They were supposed to grow old together. None of that could happen now.

She understood that Tony had done what he needed to do to defeat Thanos. She understood he never would have been able to rest if he hadn’t. Now he could rest. But this wasn’t the rest she had wanted him to have.

_Knew you were perfect after the first kiss_   
_Took a deep breath like, “ooh”_   
_Feels like forever, baby I never thought that it would be you_

Pepper tried to push her thoughts of Tony away, but she couldn’t. Instead, she remembered the first night they kissed. It was on the rooftop after he fought Ivan Vanko at the Expo.

The moment their lips met, she knew that he was the one. No one had ever kissed her like that before. She never wanted to let go, and the moment they pulled apart, she wanted to kiss him again.

They had known each other for so long before they got together as a couple. She had always secretly wanted him, and he had felt the same way. But they had both been too afraid to do anything about it until that night on the rooftop.

From that night on, she was his and he was hers. They were meant to be and they both knew it. They had a lot of ups and downs over the years, they even took a break for a couple years, but they always ended up together. Because they loved each other. And that love was supposed to last forever.

_Tell me your secrets, all of the creep shit_   
_That’s how I know it’s true_   
_Baby, direct it, name in the credits_   
_Like the movies do_

Pepper had never been as close with anyone before as she was with Tony. She knew all his deepest, darkest secrets, and he knew hers. They had seen each other at their lowest points. They had helped each other fight off their demons. They had been through so much together.

She had always held onto hope that they would have their happy, Hollywood movie ending. After all they had been through, they deserved it. He was a wonderful man. He was a wonderful husband, friend, and father. He was the true embodiment of what it meant to be a hero. He deserved to raise his daughter and live happily ever after with Pepper. But apparently, the universe disagreed.

_Click, click, click and post_   
_Drip-drip-dripped in gold_   
_Quick, quick, quick, let’s go_   
_Kiss me and take off your clothes_

They should’ve had many more years together. He should’ve gotten to watch Morgan grow up. He should’ve gotten to raise her with Pepper. He should’ve gotten to retire and grow old with her. He deserved the opportunity to get decades more of happiness and memories. He deserved that more than anyone she knew.

But fate was cruel. He saved the universe and but it killed him. And she couldn’t help but wonder what their life together could’ve been like if he hadn’t.

_Imagine a world like that_   
_Imagine a world like that_   
_We go like up ‘til I’m sleep on your chest_   
_Love how my face fits so good in your neck_

What if Tony hadn’t been the one to end up with the stones? What if it had been Carol, or even Steve? They would have stood a better chance of surviving it.

Then, Tony could have come home from the battle with her. He could have come home to Morgan and she would’ve jumped in his arms.

They would have made a special dinner to celebrate defeating Thanos. Then they could have told Morgan all about the exciting battle, leaving out some of the more violent details of course, while she listened in awe of what they had done.

When it got late, they would have put her to bed together. They might have stayed up later, but they probably would have gone to bed themselves. The battle was so exhausting, and they needed rest.

They would have gone to bed together. She would have cuddled up to him and fallen asleep in his arms. And they would have slept peacefully, knowing they’d saved the universe and survived it together.

_Why can’t you imagine a world like that?_   
_Imagine a world_

Tony would be there with her right now. She would be curled up happily in his arms, instead of crying alone.

He would be there to help her. He would play with Morgan and tuck her into bed every night. He really was a wonderful father.

He was a wonderful husband too. And a wonderful friend. He was just a wonderful person. It just wasn’t fair that he had to be the one to die.

_Can you imagine it?_   
_Can you imagine it?_   
_Can you imagine it?_   
_Can you imagine it?_

He could be here right now, watching a movie and eating popcorn with Pepper and Morgan. He could be here right now laughing and sharing a drink with Rhodey and the surviving Avengers. He could be here right now helping his friends cope with those they had lost.

He could be here to imagine his future with Pepper with her. He could be here, making new memories with everyone that he loved, and everyone that loved him. He could be here living out the happy ending he deserved.

_Can you imagine it? (Can you imagine?)_   
_Can you imagine it? (Can you imagine?)_   
_Can you imagine it? (Can you imagine?)_   
_Ooh, imagine it (Can you imagine?)_

Pepper could imagine it all so easily. Probably too easily. It was far easier to imagine that he was still here living out their dream life than to accept the harsh reality that he was gone.

So she closed her eyes and kept imagining. And she dreamed that Tony was still there. So was Natasha. They were both alive and everyone was happy and everything was fine. It was so much easier to accept her imagination than reality.

_Imagine it, imagine it_   
_Imagine it, imagine it_

Pepper woke up from her dream, expecting to see Tony there next to her. But she was alone.

She burst into tears. It was so hard to accept that he was really gone. But this was her reality now. He died, and she had to raise their daughter without him. And the longer she tried to pretend he was here, the harder reality would be to accept.

She knew it was time to accept what happened. It was okay to remember him. But Morgan needed her to live in the present. In the real world. Not in the past, or in some imagined alternate reality. She needed to move on as best she could.

But he had been such a big part of her life for so long. For almost twenty years, they were everything to each other. They were all the other had. He was everything to her, and now he was gone. And that was way too hard to accept.

_Imagine, imagine_   
_Imagine, imagine_   
_Imagine, imagine_

“Mommy,” Morgan’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” She lifted the covers so Morgan could climb into bed next to her. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“Not really.” She replied, cuddling up in her arms. “I had a dream about Daddy.”

“Me too.” Pepper told her. “It’s hard to wake up and remember he isn’t here with us.”

“But he is here.” Morgan said. “In my dream, he was here, and so was Auntie Nat. And they told me that they’re not gone. They’re still here with us, watching over us. They wanted me to tell you that it’s okay to be sad that they died, but they’re in a better place now. They can rest now, but they’re still watching over us.”

“They wanted you to tell me that?” She asked.

“Yeah. They said you were really sad tonight and that they thought you needed to know that they weren’t really gone.”

“Thank you for telling me.” She planted a kiss in her hair.

She hoped Morgan was right. Maybe they weren’t really gone. Maybe they were in a beautiful, happy place watching over them. Maybe she’d even see them again someday. She liked that thought. It was a comforting thing to imagine. 

**Author's Note:**

> I actually cried writing the ending of this. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it. I may write another Pepperony fic, but I don’t have any ideas right now. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
